Morsi's lawyer withdraws from trial until soundproof boxes are removed

CAIRO, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The lawyer representing ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and 35 other Muslim Brotherhood members said Sunday he has withdrawn from the trial.

Shortly after the conspiracy trial began Sunday, defense lawyers left the courtroom, objecting to soundproof glass being placed on the dock where defendants usually stand in the courtroom, CNN said.

"The glass dock is to humiliate the defendants," lawyer Mohamed Selim El Awa said. "This is unprecedented in the world."

El Awa said he will not return until the glass boxes are removed.

The court said it will appoint 10 new lawyers for Morsi and the other defendants, and postpone the trial until Feb. 23, Ahram Online reported.

But defense lawyer Hussein Farouq argued that Morsi and the other defendants have authorized only El-Sawa's team to represent them.

Morsi and 35 other Muslim Brotherhood members are standing trial for allegedly spying for foreign organizations outside Egypt, as well as committing acts of terror inside Egypt, passing on classified defense information to a foreign country and funding terrorism, CNN reported.

The prosecutor-general's office has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of working with terrorists in Sinai to attack police officers and soldiers "with the purpose of terrorizing the Egyptian people, stirring chaos, infringing upon the independence of the country and its territorial integrity as well as the unity of the people, and foaming sectarian sedition with the aim of igniting civil war in Egypt."

Morsi became president in 2012 after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 29 years. Morsi withdrew from the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party in an effort to show he wants to represent all of Egypt, but was removed from office in a military coup in July 2013.